looking good

Priya scrolled through her latest post from Srirangam, the golden temple gleaming behind her smile. Five thousand miles away in Toronto, she'd monetized her nostalgia, turning childhood memories into engagement. The comments poured in—her grandmother called it "big-mouth showing off," while cousins praised her sharp thinking about the diaspora economy. Yet something felt hollow. The algorithm rewarded her glossy aesthetics, unknowingly erasing the temple's true spirit she'd forgotten in pursuit of perfection. That evening, she video-called her grandmother, phone down, and listened to stories untold by any filter. Real connection transcended the screen, tethering her soul back to Srirangam's sacred shores and the family still praying there.